Growth tips 30 seconds to business enlightenment.
What is strategy again?
29-Sep-2011
Many companies think they have a strategy, but usually all they have
done is a meaningless exercise in financial goal setting. Goal setting
is important - but setting numerical targets is not a strategy. We all
want to grow – but growth is not a strategy. We all want to improve our
businesses - but improvement is not a strategy. We all want to be more
efficient – but efficiency is not a strategy. Yes, we want to be
better than our competitors – but beating our competitors is not a
strategy either. Bigger, better, faster, cheaper is not strategy!
Remind me about strategy again?
Strategy is about understanding how your industry is likely to play out,
and getting very clear on the key strategic moves your company needs to
make to position yourself for future success in your industry.
There are profound changes occurring in many industries. Are you going
to be one of the casualties or one of the success stories? Your
industry will have both. Which one will you be?
Strategy means choosing the right actions to ensure your future
success. You need to understand the forces that will likely impact your
industry. Then you make clear choices about how you are going to
compete and how you will make money in the future. You choose which
customers you are going to focus on, and how you will position and
deliver your offer in a way that makes you meaningfully different from
your competitors. You choose which activities you are going to perform
and which activities you will say 'NO' to.
You cannot be everything to everybody. A real strategy forces you to make tradeoffs.
I’ve always loved this quote from Warren Buffet: “The difference between successful people and very successful people, is that very successful people say 'NO' to almost everything.”
Steve Jobs echoes this sentiment: “I'm as proud of what we don't do as I am of what we do.”
Only when you have a clear strategy that is well-communicated throughout
your company, will you and your staff know exactly which things to say
'YES' to, and which things to say 'NO' to. Otherwise don’t be surprised
if everyone keeps on chasing those squirrels.
What do you need to stop doing - or just say 'NO' to?
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34531334269947::RESULTS.com | The Missing 98%
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Most importantly without identifying and executing a disciplined focused execution plan strategy is little more than wishful thinking!